She means business! Stella English wears chic black suit and killer heels for first day as Lord Alan Sugar's Apprentice

She was the girl who grew up on a crime-ridden South London sink estate - but today Stella English looked a million dollars as she started her £100,000 job with Lord Alan Sugar.

Stella, 31, arrived at the business mogul's less-than-glamorous headquarters of his company Viglen, situated not amongst the glittering skyscrapers of London, but suburban St Albans, just two weeks after being named the winner of The Apprentice.

The mother-of-two was dressed to the nines in a sleek black dress with sharp black jacket and matching stilettos for the start of her apprenticeship.

In business: Stella English arrives for work at Lord Alan Sugar's Viglen offices in St Albans for her first day as his new apprentice

Immediately after being named as Lord Alan's chosen one, after weeks of tasks which she took on with steely grit and determination, Stella had gone to check out the offices in her civvies.

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Stella said at the time: ‘To think that little Stella from Thamesmead is the winner is ­unbelievable. But I always believed it in my heart. After all the blood, sweat and tears, I made it to the end.’

Walking away: Stella is hoping to leave her past behind her as she throws herself into her new high-profile role

Stella’s troubled background saw her father abandon her before she was born.

She was soon also given up by her mother Drusilla, who had mental problems, and had spells in state-run homes and with relatives, before setting her sights on a business career.

Casual: Stella was shown around the offices days after her win on the Apprentice was broadcast in preparation for her first day today

A whole new world: On a £100,000 a year contract with Lord Sugar, Stella's life has had a massive turnaround since her humble beginnings

It was also revealed after her success on the show that her fiancé Ray Dewar, 39, the father of her two children, Edward, four, and two-year-old Frank, had previously had links to one of Britain’s most feared drugs barons.

Dewar, 39, a builder and scaffolder, is alleged to have acted for a major underworld figure when he was in his 20s.

However, Stella will be hoping for a fresh start and to distance herself from her past in her new six-figure job - and is even now living in St Albans with Dewar to be close to her work - leaving the mean streets of south London far behind.

Not like on the telly: Lord Alan Sugar's Viglen headquarters on a St Albans industrial estate

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Stella English wears killer heels for first day as Lord Alan Sugar's Apprentice